Melike was already struggling with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic when the new year delivered a fresh shock. The Turkish tailor, who owns a small shop in Ankara’s socially mixed neighbourhood of Esat, saw her monthly electricity bill more than double from some 200 lira to around 500 lira ($36) after recent price rises.
A longtime supporter of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, she has found herself doubting whether she would ever vote for the president again as crushing inflation that reached almost 49 per cent last month has hit her business and her family life.
“I’m undecided — like a lot of people,” said Melike, 46, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym because her husband has a government job. “The main reason is the economy. In the early days [the ruling party] were amazing. But in the recent period, the problems began.”